Healthy, Wealthy, and DEAD?: 5 Reasons Why Getting Up Early Might be Harmful

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a late riser! But this also goes hand in hand with staying up late. I would say I get about %75 of my real creative and productive work done between 11pm and 3am. I don’t know why but this is just how I am. I find it very hard to get anything very productive done in the mornings.

I really have most of my ideas at night. I’m one of those people who just never wants to go to bed. I’d stay up until 5am every night except I make myself get to bed so I don’t sleep into the afternoon.

I know a huge reason for wanting to create my own business is for the hours. I want to work from 6pm-3am. I love that idea rather then being forced to be productive at 10am. Not that I can’t get stuff done early but the everyday grind of it makes me less productive in the long haul.

I also think that there is just so much to do during the day. Especially during the summer I want to be outside all day. Once midnight roles around everything quiets down and I am left to do whatever is on my mind.

Anyway what does everyone else feel? Are you an early or late riser? When do you feel the most productive?

Logo designing is the first activity any new business takes on to launch a brand image. Over the years, businesses have spent a lot to get unique identities which describe their nature of business, their goals and objectives. For that, they consulted different design agencies and freelance designers since online logo design companies were not that common those days. What difficulties did they face while getting their logos designed from a design agency or a freelancer and what were the benefits; we will discuss it in this article. Moreover, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of the three categories.

Design Agency

Many starting businesses have the budget to spend millions of dollars on a custom logo for their businesses and therefore they opt for renowned design agencies to design one for them. Going to a design agency has its pros and cons.A  logo is one of the basic tools to creating an impactful brand identity and if your design agency succeeds in creating something which gets instant recognition and fame, your money pays off, but what if your agency comes up with an awful logo. Your money and time would be wasted. In early days, when there was no internet, companies would hire graphic design agencies to handle their entire image building project, from creating a logo, to developing marketing and advertising campaigns, which included ATL and BTL activities as well. Fewer options were there to choose from as compared to today, where there are innumerable agencies to cater your needs.

Advantages:

There are obvious advantages of hiring a design agency for your logo project:

• Famous design agencies are professional and accountable

• Renowned design agencies are reliable to work with

• Handle large number of accounts

• Have a battalion of professional logo designers

• More designers signify more logo concepts

• More designers indicate broader skill set

• They are secure to work with. They won’t disappear anywhere

• Frequent face to face meetings with your designer

Disadvantages:

• Design agencies are highly expensive, their fee is usually fixed and not negotiable

• Logo design is one of the design services they offer, so they might not have the expertise in logo designing
• Their turnaround time may be too long since they handle large number of accounts
• They may run into delays

Freelance Designer

Apart from design agencies, there are many freelance designers, companies can hire these days for their logo project. It all depends upon the budget; even design agencies sometimes prefer having a combination of in-house designers along with freelance designers. There are countless online freelance designers to choose from for your custom logo design, but one has to be careful because of a number of factors. Since there was no internet in early times, there were offline freelancers unlike online freelance designers. They were usually considered starters or amateurs with less expertise. However, today, there’s a mushroom growth of online freelance designers to choose from at very low rates as compared to graphic design agencies.

Advantages:

The following are the advantages of a freelancer:

• Renowned freelancers are reliable to work with

• They focus on few projects unlike big design agencies

• They are cost-effective

• Minimum turnaround time

• Can be an expert in logo designing

Disadvantages:

• They may disappear for some time, they are less accountable

• Sometimes low price indicates low quality work

• You can’t have face to face meetings with your freelance designer

• One designer means less concepts or similar concepts

• Your freelancer can be a teenage amateur

• Credibility is one issue

• Can use a design template

Online Logo Design Company

Even small businesses have realized the importance of having a unique logo for them, so in order to cater them; many companies have started offering design services online, with a major emphasis on custom logo design services. However, there are so many logo design companies online, that it gets very difficult for companies to choose the best design company for them.

Advantages:

Online logo design companies are getting very popular each passing day and a lot many businesses are contacting them to get their logo designed.

• Cost-effective
• Expertise in logo designing

• Professional and accountable

• Renowned logo design companies are reliable to work with

• Handle large number of customers

• Have a battalion of professional logo designers

• More designers signify more logo concepts

• More designers indicate broader skill set

• They are secure to work with. They won’t disappear anywhere

• Fixed turnaround time

• 24/7 customer support

Disadvantages:

• No face to face meetings with the designers

• Not suitable for entire branding projects

However, what I think is, the advantages and disadvantages are all relative and restricted to what and how you want it to be done. But one thing is for sure, at the end of the day, every business wants to put up the best with minimized expenses. If you think I have missed out on something, feel free to put forward what you think should be there as an advantage or a disadvantage of a freelancer, design agency or an online logo design company.

Last month I was on Thayer St. in Providence Rhode Island with a couple friends and stopped into a restaurant called Kabob and Curry. At first it was just your average place to grab a quick bite. But then we realized all these weird prices $7.16, $8.54 and so on. Really strange had no idea why they were like this. Then we realized that it was because once tax was added the prices came out even $8 flat or whatever.

What a great idea! I loved this concept. I mean I still remember this place a month after being there…I didn’t even buy anything because I wasn’t hungry.

This is especially great in a college town because I hated having change at school. It was just a pain and generally ended up lost. I would honestly rather pay $8 then $7.85 or something where I end up with change.

One of the biggest things is it is just different. Honestly this could probably be called a marketing strategy rather then a pricing strategy. Creates word of mouth and is memorable just because its different.

Losing:

I spend a lot of time in Panera to get out of the house and get some work done. Really love it for the free Wifi and the atmosphere. However they just raised their prices on coffee. It was I think $1.84 for a medium cup now its $2.04.

Now here’s the problem. I do not want 96cents of change back for getting a cup of coffee! Most of the time I would just tell them to keep the change when it was 16cents but now I feel like I’m losing a whole dollar. I also don’t want to break a dollar bill to cover that extra 4cents.

To me this is really annoying and discourages me from getting some coffee when I end up at Panera.

My ideal price like the kabob place from above would be $2 flat. I would prefer that over the $1.84 and obviously the $2.04. Just to eliminate the change.

Now maybe I’m just being picky but its just the images these prices place in my head. I didn’t even eat at the Kabob place and I remember it a month later. The Panera price just puts a negative image in my head because the change comes across as annoying.

I wonder if Panera considered this before doing that? Do you think Panera would make more sales if their prices all ended up being on the dollar because of the word of mouth?

Or am I the only person in the world that this bothers? haha

You never want to fall into the “okay” zone as Seth Godin mentions in one of his posts Is Everything okay

What “okay” means in…

Weather – calm before the storm

Sports – less effort in practice – note #1UNC vs Boston College last week

Relationships – lacking excitement, getting dull

Job – going about the routine = not getting the promotion

Now I’m sure everyone has made new year resolutions and if you have a business I bet some of the resolutions revolved around that business. This is great because you most likely set a big goal or set out to do something that might have some great potential that you haven’t done before. This is KEY because it takes you out of that comfort zone. Making a resolution means that you now have to innovate and create that path that will let you keep that resolution. This gets the creative juices flowing again and it also gets people excited for the possibilities.

Unfortunately this only happens once a year for most people instead of monthly, weekly or maybe even daily which is how it should be for entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur you need to be constantly creating and innovating. Everyday you should be finding new ways to improve your business even if everything is “okay”.

You can never settle. If you look at your business and your not worried or excited about something then there’s something wrong. It means your in your comfort zone and not challenging yourself or your business.

If everything in your business or life is “okay”. How will it ever be remarkable?

Now I realize that part of this reason is that some people still don’t know what a blog is let alone how to make one. But you would have to think that they have heard of blogs. With a little online research into marketing or business promotion you can easily find many suggestions to start a blog.

In the end though I don’t think its the lack of knowledge or know-how that stops most people with businesses from starting a blog. It’s about the content.

The question – “What will I write about?” Or an excuse like “I don’t have the time.” These are the real road blocks that stop people. However I don’t think these are road blocks at all for a small business owner.

So you don’t know what to write about.

Well lets see you have a small business. This means that you probably have some knowledge in that industry or niche. Maybe some people even refer to you as a guru or master in that business field. You probably want to attract more customers to your products or services (I don’t know many businesses that are trying to get rid of customers). Well generally people buy things from people who they trust or consider knowledgeable in that field. Now maybe these people don’t really know that you are knowledgeable in your field and you wish there was just some way to show them how you think and what you know.Hmmm get where this is going?

So there you have something to write about. A successful blog has great content but that great content is there for a reason, there is a smart person behind it. Is there anything easier to blog about! Just focus on whatever your business is and write down all those tips and pointers that you spend your days explaining to customers.

But now you still don’t have the time.

Who said that if you want to become a successful business owner it was going to be easy? There is always time. Blogging is not something that takes a lot of time to do either. If you are passionate and knowledgeable in your field (which you should be because you started a business in it) then writing quick informative posts should be easy. Posts don’t have to be long or often, quality over quantity. If you find it hard to write quick posts because you just love going into detail or you find you get more response from well thought out detailed posts then add some filler to the blog. In between the technical posts give quick links to resources in your field. Or maybe you travel a lot to speak or promote your business. Make quick posts about where you are and what your doing.
It’s great to have unique and informative information in a blog but customers also like to know what you are doing. Those quick filler posts will also show people that the blog is active and that just because you really haven’t had a chance to make a long post in a couple weeks you are still there.

So there ya go. There is no reason a small business should not have a blog. A blog is a great place to show off your talents and how great your business is to an audience larger then you could ever imagine. It will take a little time to get used to blogging and to get your blog looking and feeling the way you want it to but if you start it will get there. The key is starting and in time you will see the benefits.

And this doesn’t apply to only small business owners. This goes for anyone with a business or who is looking to start a business. Think of the benefits if you haven’t started your business yet and you could create a dedicated following to announce your new business to!

So get out there and start a blog! No excuses!

Read this awesome post about setting up a blog over at Zaggededge.com

Seth Godin just released a new book called Tribes. The book talks about leading tribes and who is doing it. I wanted to make a post about how Seth launched the book because it really shows why he is such a revered marketer and why all of his work reaches the highest levels. Now normally a book launch goes through some general steps. The author will probably work it into presentations he makes to promote it. They will announce it on their website or blog. They might form a group that is excited about the book to further promote the launch. Then they will just tell everyone they know and spread the word as best they can.

Now Seth implemented these strategies but with some twists that made his launch really “remarkable” as he would say. So lets take a look at some of the steps he took.

1. Created Triiibes

Back in July Seth announced that he was starting a private network called Triiibes. In order to join the network you had to pre-order a copy of his new book Tribes which was set for release in mid October. Once you pre-ordered the book you had to send him the receipt and then he would send you an invite to this private network. The network right now has 3,647 members. It has grown slightly from the original number because Seth has offered things like friend invites during the 2 months the network has been up. Now lets look at what this network does for the launch of Seth’s new book.

- Core followers
Everyone who pre-ordered the book to get an invite to the network was excited about this opportunity to be a part of this. These people told their friends about this exclusive club they were in and at the same time told them it was because of a new book Seth was launching. So right off the bat Seth has created word of mouth marketing about his book launch that is still 2 months away!

- Seth is active in the network
Seth as usual shows he cares about his followers and stayed fairly active on Triiibes. He has a Q&A discussion in the forum and regularly posts updates to the network. This lets people see further into Seth’s mind, exactly what anyone who joined Triiibes would want to do. This also enhances Seth’s image as people who maybe decided to check out this network but weren’t a long time follower of Seth now got to see how helpful and dedicated he is to his work.

- It became a resource
As Seth said this wasn’t a network like facebook. The network was created to create content. It became a great place to go to read a great blog post or take part in an intriguing discussion. This came from keeping the network private which made it full of like-minded people who were focused on making related content. This kept people coming back and thus kept the thought of Tribes on their minds.

2. Surprise Free Early Copy

So about 2 weeks before the actual release of the book I and all others who pre-ordered a copy got a little surprise in the mail. A free copy of the book! At first I was a little confused I didn’t even realize it wasn’t the copy I had ordered. But then there was a note inside from Seth telling everyone it was free with no strings attached. He then said that he wanted us to read that copy of the book and once we received the pre-ordered copy in the mail to give it away. What a way to create even more hype around the book!

After this happened I went onto Triiibes to see if everyone else had the same experience. I found that everyone was talking about it whether they had received their free copy yet or not. I realized then what a great way to create viral marketing right there. Every person who got a free copy talked about the fact that they got a free early copy of Seth’s new book for the rest of the day. In giving away thousands of books Seth was probably able to reach tens of thousands of people with his concept of Tribes.

3. Speaking

Now this is a fairly common technique that follows a book launch. Seth will be speaking in NYC on Oct. 22nd about the book, it is a brand new presentation covering the material and concepts that Tribes is about. Even for this event Seth encourages people to take videos of the presentation. Something you don’t see to often from speakers and again he knows that these videos will be put on youtube, facebook, mypsace, and whatever other networks are out there. Thus it ends up being 1 more method that his words and ideas and book reach more ears and eyes.

All of this was no accident. This is why Seth Godin is considered a master marketer. He knows how to sell things.

I think this is key to any business that is just starting, you don’t need a master marketer to create similar effects. Finding ways to create that all important “wow” factor that gets people talking. Do something that makes people go out and tell their friends and family. Seth planned out how he was going to get that “wow” factor by creating the Triiibes network and then having a group to surprise with a free copy. But it doesn’t have to be on that scale. Most people have fairly ordinary and even boring day to day routines. If you find a way to interrupt that for just a minute that may be all that is needed to get that person to spread your ideas to a few more people.

The point is that any business can implement this type of marketing. It’s not very hard. It just takes a little creative thinking and some planning but anyone can find a way to make someone go “wow” so that person goes and tells the next few people they talk to.

Anybody have any experiences with things like what Seth did? Made you take a second look or go “wow”.

If I get some good responses I’ll make a follow up post about them. Don’t forget to leave your name and a link if you want so I can give you credit!

Get a copy of Tribes at Amazon

And nice job to Seth! He talks about this kind of marketing all the time and then he shows that he knows what he is talking about by successfully doing it.

- Get someone to take care of all those little things you hate dealing with on a daily basis.  Have them make your phone calls, send emails, do research, edit your blog/website, and anything else you can imagine.  All you do is make a post and explain what you want done and you will receive bids from VA’s.  Rates go as low as $3/hr!!!

Learn more about virtual assistant resources at ZaggedEdge.com

2. Start Your Website

- Starting a business and trying to figure out how to get online? Make a post on Elance and get bids on your project from programmers all over the world.  I’ve found that many programmers will really get into conversation with you to try and understand your project before you give it to them.  Don’t worry if you don’t know how to make a post or what to describe just make a vague description and you’ll learn the details through conversation.  You also can easily see various styles of work and experience by looking through all the providers portfolios.

3. Get a logo

- Post your project in the design section and get logo submission from various graphic designers.  Great way to get that logo on your site when you have no drawing or graphic skill like me.

4. Get IDEAS!!

- By far the most useful aspect is that you don’t have to award your project to any of the bidders.  If you posted something without much of an idea of what you were doing (like me) you can quickly realize this is way over my head or I have a new thought for how to structure my site.  By talking with programmers you also get used to the lingo and better understand how to make a better post for next time.  So basically you can easily learn who’s ripping you off and what to ask for without it costing you a dime!

There’s no better way to learn what your getting yourself into then by hearing the questions and comments from people who have been doing it for years.

Elance.com

Right now I am involved in a few start-ups and I am slowly learning the do’s and dont’s of handling a business.  The one thing I have done right is associate myself with the right people and I think that is the biggest step.  I have two businesses right now that I have partners in and when I came across this article about picking people to work with I thought it did a great job at summing everything up.

11 steps to pick the right person

• Talk about relative strengths, experiences, skills and weaknesses. Take the time to get a really solid feel for who’s bring what, in terms of operating capability, to the table. Move beyond words and explore actions.
• Define broader lifestyle visions and core values – You may be on the same page when it comes to the business, but to the extent possible, you also want to either be on the same page or be able to foster genuine respect for each person’s outlook on the role of the venture in their bigger lives and the value they expect to run both the business and their lives by.
• Share venture specific vision, long-term goals/desired exits – Have each person write a detailed concrete description of the long and intermediate term visions for the company and, if appropriate, the desired exit strategies. Do this on paper and DO NOT DISCUSS them until they’ve been committed to paper. Then print them out and swap papers. Doing it this way will keep each person’s vision their own, rather than pressuring one or both people to relent to the perception of the other person’s public, maybe more strongly argued position. From these positions, now the real discussion can begin.
• Check out resumes, references, online reputation and interests – As much you value your gut instinct, be smart and do your due diligence. You cannot imagine the surprises you’ll find.
• Explore desired roles, titles and responsibilities – Share not only the bigger vision, but the specific roles that you see each person taking on in the venture. Then see if they work well with the skills and abilities that person brings to the dance.
• Look at individual execution styles, systems vs cowboy orientation – One of the greatest sources of conflict between partners is not so much in what they want, but the “way” they go about getting it.  We all have our own operating styles and approaches. Some work well together, others are like water and oil. So, talk about operating styles and see if they mesh.
• Reveal approaches to attracting and managing people – Just as operating styles can differ, so too can approaches to managing people. Share management philosophies, styles and how each of you have handled challenging situations. Make sure you both share at least a strong outlook on the role of people in the business.
• Understand risk tolerance levels and profiles – Some people are cowboys and others are anchors in a storm. Talk about risk tolerance levels and how comfortable each of you are taking and living chronically with certain types and sizes of risk.
• Explore nature of contribution: money, work, connections – Talk about exactly what each person is able to bring to the table. Then try to agree on the relative value of each type of contribution. This makes allocating ownership an easier process.
• Discuss readiness, timing and hard-line restrictions – Just because two people connect around a shared vision doesn’t mean both are ready to take action at the same time. Talk about readiness and timing and confirm that both people are at a point where they are capable of moving forward.
• Share what’s make or break and what’s open to discussion – Whether we admit it or not, we all have lines we draw in the sand. Sometimes they’re real, other times, they’re just posturing. When you’re dealing with someone you hope to share a venture with, try to keep posturing to a minimum, be forthright about what is non-negotiable and what is open to discussion. Excessive posturing can start off a relationship in a really bad place, so deal openly and honestly with those you hope to build a lasting partnership with.

So when deciding on who to work with take your time and go through some of these steps to try and avoid ending up in entrepreneurial divorce court.

One of the biggest things that holds people back from starting a business is money. You here all the time “if I just had a little more money I could start my business.”  What most people don’t realize is its that fear that makes a business succeed.  If you don’t have enough money or know that you have loans to payback in 6months that is what will drive you to work harder until you succeed.  When people start a business and have plenty of money they lose that extra edge that pushes others forward.  Having enough money almost lulls those start-ups to sleep.  Look at Microsoft, being so successful caused them to fall behind the competition and allowed other companies to step in.  They had no fear of going broke and therefore didn’t have the extra drive to push the limits.

2. Fear of the unknown

Every entrepreneur should have a fear of the unknown.  There should be something in their business that you aren’t sure of and that seems a little risky.  This fear is what is so exciting about starting a business in the first place.  Most business start-ups take people places they never thought they would go.  This fear of not knowing where your business may go or not having that perfect business plan is the best part of entrepreneurship.  Its exciting and invigorating to dream and wonder where this could take you.  It also means your business isn’t rigid and could go places you don’t expect which only opens it up to more opportunity.

3. Fear of failure

I’ve never known an entrepreneur that would say they had no thoughts of failure when they started their venture.  It’s natural and necessary to have this fear.  It will make you work harder and it will show you that you are doing something different.  If it was so easy to start a business everyone would do it, and therefore there would be no fear of failure.  One of the biggest differences between the person who starts a business and the person who talks about starting a business is that the start-up sees the fear as a challenge.  They see it as an opportunity and want to take it on and beat that fear.  The person who talks about starting a business is scared and sees the fear as an obstacle that they have to eliminate before going forward.  Which are you?

Fear is good.  If you don’t have it then either you aren’t pushing yourself to the edge or maybe it’s a warning that your business is being lulled to sleep.

Embrace fear and watch your ventures take you on a thrilling and wild ride.

I have a lot on my mind but there was one thing in particular that I wanted to share with you all:

What it is has been like working at Google.

Interesting, fun, surprising, insightful, inspiring, impactful, and more such words. This post shares that experience.

I went into Google with my own filters and expectations on what the experience would be like and what I would end up doing.

Looking back the reality has been different in so many ways, even for a jaded Silicon Valley veteran of layoffs and cool companies like myself.

Before I get any further I wanted to mention that I am the Analytics Evangelist for Google. I am a Consultant (a “red badge” as I often remark!). There is little difference between roles and expected outcomes between a full time employee and a consultant – nonetheless there is a very different benefits structure at multiple levels for consultants (as Johnny Law dictates). I also don’t have any holdings of Google stock, and, not being a full time employee, I also don’t hold any Google options.

Also my experience is positive, there is a small community that seeks sub optimal stuff about Google constantly. You can bounce now because you won’t find it here.

With that squared away, ever wonder what makes Google tick?

Here are ten insights from / cool things about / reasons for / delightful surprises from almost a year of working at Google:

# 10: The amazingly fantastic food and impressive digs.
# 9: “Micro Efficiencies”.
# 8: A company that truly cares.
# 7: Brain expansion opportunities.
# 6: The sheer amount of brilliant Google employees.
# 5: Empowerment (The big small company).
# 4: The scale of your impact.
# 3: Doing Good: Green & .org
# 2: It’s a happening place. The energy, the vibe, the passion.
# 1: The brand.

See the reasons why I picked the above ten HERE